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Monday, January 22, 2018

Guest Post :: How to Dress for an Alternative Wedding

I
have to confess that I am a pretty traditional person: my favorite fashion
icons are Grace Kelly, Jackie Kennedy, Audrey Hepburn, and Coco Chanel. I have
a feeling that I would fit right in at a late 1950s dinner party, complete with
white dinner gloves an A-line dress. Needless to say that I have always dreamed
of a traditional weeding for myself – lace dress, tons of white flowers,
married in church, and of course a fun but tasteful reception.

However,
the alternative wedding trend keeps growing more and more with each passing
year, and you know when Vera Wang hops on board with a trend that it’s going to
be around for a while. Even though an alternative wedding isn’t my personal
‘dream wedding’ I still think it would be fun to attend one just for the
experience. Obviously you might need to dress a little differently for an alternative
wedding. For today’s guest post Peter Minkoff is guest posting and sharing a
few words of advice for how to dress for a alternative wedding.

Gone
are the days when we had to put our personal interests, affinities and style
personas on shelf in order to accommodate the ‘cookie-cutter’ wedding
traditions that are filled with white, classic elegance, pastels and glitter.
The bold couples who paved the way for alternative weddings are the ones to
thank for this new wedding trend heading towards mainstream. We are all
different, and it’s high time you reclaim your special day and make it about
you again, as opposed to what other people expect your day to be. For the
purpose of helping you navigate this still somewhat unexplored territory, we’re
taking you on a journey that will help you form specific ideas about yours and
your wedding guests’ attire so you can have a day that will be joyful in all
aspects.

The
focal point

While
it’s true that the spotlight has, not so much shifted but rather expanded, and
the eyes aren’t only on the bride but the groom as well (deservingly), it still
doesn’t change the fact that half of the center stage still belongs to the
bride. In the vast universe of white and champagne elegant gowns full of beads
and sequins, an alternative bride is a bold bride. Thankfully, the fashion
industry paid attention and is now catering to the needs of this type of bride.
Vera Wang has paved the way with her line of gorgeous black wedding dresses, each one
with more alternative pizzazz than the other. Dresses like these are the
epitome of gothic – dark, glamorous, filled with mystery and that elevated goth
elegance. However, if you are on the market for something slightly more
downsized and subdued, there are tons of dresses out there both red and black,
and some of them aren’t even wedding dresses per se, but who cares if they make
you feel great in your own skin. It’s time to make a grand entrance your way.

The wedding party

When
you’re attending a goth or alternative wedding, respecting and following the
theme and the dress code is paramount. You may not be as alternative as the
lovebirds tying the knot, but the same wedding rules apply to everyone and honoring
the code shows your love and respect for your friends’ choices. Besides, how
often do you get to break the ‘no black’ wedding attire etiquette and look
stunning in dark hues? Now, there are two ways to go about it – one of them is
‘the easy way’ e.g. picking out a nice and slightly edgy black dress and style
it up with goth flair. However, a more creative stylistic solution that will
make you fit into the wedding theme perfectly lies in cool gothic costumes. Even
if you’re not a goth, you can play dress up for a day, you’ll look stunning and
make your friends grateful that you have put in an effort for their big day.

Let’s
hear it for the groom

Of
course the groom hasn’t been forgotten, after all, he now finally has an equal
share of the spotlight. Again, there are two ways to go when picking out a
wedding suit. We know that unlike for the brides, there aren’t many alternative
suits for men, but all is not lost. One option is to have it custom tailored
for you. You can work with an indie designer, pull out some ideas from
Pinterest and create a suit that is just ‘you’. The other route is perhaps even
more amazing, and involves less work. There are sites that offer both amazing
suits – both gothic and steampunk
(along with the necessary accessories). There are also amazing separates you
can buy and mix and match them according to your taste and preference. There is
no doubt that any of these two options will give you the exact look you
imagined, and your bride will be swept off her feet once again.

Hey Lauren, I work in hospitality and we really see every theme - vintage to Gothic on Hallo'ween (Groom looked like Johnny Depp with a top hat and cane). We even had someone with a breaking bad theme on the table names (not my cup of tea but hey ho). Even though I am a wedding traditionalist I guess people like the wedding to reflect them, and you wouldn't want it any other way! Great post! Europafox x

Not gonna lie, dressing for a wedding SERIOUSLY stresses me out, so I loved this post! (Especially since EVERYONE we know is getting married these days!). My favorite sentiment is about respecting the couple's choices and supporting them by dressing on theme. I would honestly love to go to a crazy themed wedding one day!Thanks for sharing!